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| A Medley of Memories | ||||||||||||||||||
| (Reminesences of Mr. V. P. Dhanaraj) Sundown on a Sunday in 1924. The wizened old lamp-lighters ar ebusy lighting the kerosene street lamps when a 11-year old boy drives past in his family co-drawn cart, carefully negotiating the potholes so that his grandfather seated in the rear has a comfortable ride. When the cart stops at St.John's Church, The grandfather heads for the organ while the littele boy scurries to the vestry to don his black cassock and white surplice. The grandfather is is Mr. A. G. Samuel, organist of St. John's Church and conductor of its Boy's Choir till his death in 1928. The little boy is Mr. V. P. Dhanaraj, now himself a grandfather, who in the 1920's sang soprano in the St. John's Church choir. The organ, then complete with a mirror in which the organist could view the choir, was placed near the northern vestry and the choir pews to the centre. Evening services
(St. John's had no morning service then), were illumined by
the glow of a kerosene powered 'Sunlight' that highlighted the
pearly sheen of the walls, which were at that time plastered
with a mixture of lime, egg-white and ground sea-shells. The
atmosphere was formal and an unwritten hierarchy governed the
very seating of the Collector, the Judge, the police officials.
But Collector or mere civil servant, all were equal in the eyes
of God, and of the blazing Vellore heat. All sweated with equal
profuseness under their stiff starched collars. The only saving
grace was the gentle breeze of the strategically placed punkahs
within the church which were pulled by the patient punkahwallahs
stationed outside the church. In those days the congregation
was so small that the sexton would go to individual houses to
collect subscription. |
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| Friend or foe? | ||||||||||||||||||
| (Recollections
of Miss Anna Jacob, Nursing Suptd. (retd) of CMC Hospital)
55 years
ago, Miss Anna Jacob arrived in Vellore, a brilghteyed teenager
eager to pursue her studies at CMC's School of Nursing. Initially,
she and her friend, Miss Chrissy, worshipped at the local Tamil
Chuch, and though they enjoed the services, were not wholly
familiar with the language. That's when someone suggested the
idea of St. John's so Miss Jacob and her friend plucked up courage
to make their way to Church. In those days it required no small
measure of courage even to get near St. John's, for at the gate
of Vellore Fort stood two stern guards in complete ceremonial
costume. "Friend or foe, "the guards would bark out
gruffly whenever any unfamiliar figure approached the gateway.
Miss Jacob confesses that a combination of nervousness and surprise
prevented her from understanding what the guards said. Her friend,
however, was not to be intimidated, and replied very airily,
"Friends, of course!". And soon the guards came to
know them as friends indeed. Coming every Sunday she possibly could, from 1933 onwards, Miss Jacob has been a familiar figure at St. John's Church. On her half-day off too, she and her friends would wander around the Fort and look in at the Church before they took a jatka ride for the grand finale of the day - tea and cakes at the Spencer's and Co. that was then located at the railway station. In the 1930's, the congregation
was almost entirely European with the Nathaniel family being
one of the few Indian members. The services were very formal
and the congregation was attired in full formal dress, the men
in suits, the ladies in frills and flounces, sporting enormous
hats, each one a uniquely interesting creation. Miss Jacob particularly
remembers one that was twigged and plumbed to resemble a birds
nest! After service, members of the congregation would drive
away, never stopping to chat, or even amiably exchange a greeting.
To Miss Jacob, the services at St. John's have become increasingly
meaningful over the years and she makes a special mention of
the warmth and good fellowship that exists between members of
the congregation today. |
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| Sentimental Journey | ||||||||||||||||||
| (Dr.
Paul Stephen remembers...)
Once upon a time, not so very long ago, St. John's church had only 16 registered members, 9 of whom belonged to the Nathaniel family. Dr. Paul Stephen, a newcomer to Vellore in 1950 was amongst the other 7 members and today proudly lays claim to being the oldest registered member of St. john's Church still worshipping there. The 1940's and 50's were a most turbulent and controversial time for St. John's Church. First came a disquieting rumour that, with Independence, the Church, mistakenly believed to have been used by Europeans only, was to be taken over as a protected monument by the Archaeological Survey of India and worship suspended. Dr. R. P. Nathaniel, fiery, out-spoken , unstinting worker for the church ws determined that this was not to be. He collected signatures, arranged speakers for services and mobilized the congregation. It is due to his efforts that the Church of South India continued to retain St. John's Church. No one minded, naturally, when so zealous a protector of the Church had two brass plaques reading 'Lay Trustee' screwed to the front two pews and reserved them for seating his family. Rev. Dr. Blaise Levai, a dynamic man brimful of new ideas, was pastor of St.John's Church through some of its stormy years. He revisited the Church in 1983 for three months to find St. John's calm peaceful and was touched to receive a warm welcome from the congregation. It was during his chaplainship that Munniswami the Hindu sexton was baptised in 1954. News of Munniswami's hasty and furtive baptism was broken to the Pastorate Committee with a measure of high drama. "Munniswami, who's Muniniswami?" certain members asked in mock ignorance, "Come here sexton, what's your name?" "Samuel sir," Munniswami replied, giving his baptised name. Samuel has been one of the most devoted and dedicated sextons and still lives in church compound. His son Soundar has taken over his duties. Dr. Paul Stephen
has been organist of St. John's Church and sung in its choir
for over three decades. He has seen the choir go through several
ups and downs. There were moments of joy and immense satisfaction
when they rendered Handel and Bach under the direction of Carlyle
Velu. But achieving a full chori was difficult even in those
days. During Easter 1959 and some of the following months, Dr.
Jacob Chandy, keen encourager of the choir, hit upon a novel
idea to induce the choristers to stay on and sing for both services.
On those Sundays, the congregation would be distracted by the
appetizing smells of Dr. Chandy's culinary bribe - a hearty
breakfast of bacon and eggs cooked and served outside the church
to members of the choir. Little wonder that the choir pews were
seldom empty after that! |
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| Of Memories, Verses and Sunday School | ||||||||||||||||||
| By
Deenah Oomen
St. John's Church ! What a flood of memories washes through my mind. I can see myself… As a six year old, hardly able to see over the pews, struggling to keep up with the service with a finger moving frantically up and down the page in the 'Common Prayer Book'.!… trying my best to find the number announced in the hymn book before the organ finished playing the first verse as introduction… rushing off to Sunday School to sing 'Dropping, dropping' and making as much noise as I can when a dropping the ten-paise coin into the fish-shaped offertory bowl. As a ten year old, graduating to chairs outside the hall… trying hard to remember memory verses repeated twenty times over that morning… making book marks and drawing a series of pictures to make a T. V. production of Saul's conversion, with a shoe - box and a manually rolled screen. As a fourteen year old, going to Bible classes led by Mrs. Walkie and for the first time questioning everything that had been taken for granted till then about God, religion and faith… setting memory verses to familiar tunes to remember them… praying earnestly with heart and soul for the lost pet dog of a friend. Being confirmed at fifteen and entering the coveted domain of grown-ups… staying in Church to listen to sermons and trying not to fidget. And later, while working at the Ida Scudder School, singing in the choir, reading a lesson, leading an intercessory prayer… listening to the though-provoking sermons and questioning my attitudes, values and way of life listening to songs and watching skits- eye-openers put on by the youth. After a week of gruelling work, when one has often fallen short of the glory of God, during spells of tiredness and irritability, attending a service at St. john's can put things back in perspective and revive and refresh one. Young and old, men and women, people of different countries, different professions and different life-styles, can all find a way to contribute at St. John's. Over the last few years, life at St. John's has become richer and fuller. Those of us who have had to move on take with us a strong spiritual foundation nurtured and enriched with the presence of God and His people, as seen and felt at St. John;s. And so wherever we are, we remain 'One in the Spirit, One in the Lord'. May St. John's do for others what she has done for us as people who grew up in Vellore- that is, point people to Jesus. |
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| A Riddle | ||||||||||||||||||
| By
Sunitha Kuruvilla
I This is what the CHURCH means to me. |
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| What the Sunday School is to me | ||||||||||||||||||
By B. Hemanth Shameen
Prashantham
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| The Renovation of St. John's | ||||||||||||||||||
Dr.
P. Zachariah
During most of the current year the members of St. John's have been reminded in a physical way that they are pilgrims with no permanence here on earth. The roof of their church building, which proudly claimed its year of completion as 1846, was in imminent danger of collapsing over them due to the ravages of time and termites. This forced the congregation to take in hand the replacement of the roof which had been much debated in the past but always postponed. From May 1987, the congregation began meeting for worship in a thatched shed put up at the back of the Church and in front of the church hall, so that work on the roof could be undertaken with the necessary thoroughness. It had
always been agreed that any such repairs should preserve the basic
and characteristic design of the building. According a plan was
approved to reproduce in concrete a replica of the old roof, which
was flat on either side and sloped in the middle with an unusual
gap between two levels in the slope to provide for ventilation
and light. The total cost for this was estimated to be Rs. 350,000, towards which only about Rs. 70,000 was available in the standing building fund of the Church. A committee, as listed below, was constituted to mobilize the finances and to oversee the constituted to mobilize the finances and to oversee the actual repairs. Mr. Tharyan Koshi, as Treasurer of the Church, accepted the tedious task of cash management. The three engineers in the committee were constituted into a working group to look after all the technical aspects and the day-to-day supervision. Mr. Paul jepegnanam, who had all along worked assiduously for the proper maintenance of the building and property of the Church, agreed to be the supervising engineer. His expertise and devoted attention which had gone into the drafting of the alternative proposals for the roof replacement continued into the supervision of all aspects of the work Mr. T. Balasubramanian was appointed building contractor and the quality of the work of his team will soon be evident. From the outset, the committee felt that the major part of the finances must come through spontaneous contributions from current members, registered and otherwise, without individual soliciting. An appeal was drafted, and elegantly printed without charge by Mr. Premkumar of Prestografik, a new member of the Church. This was presented at a congregational meeting and also sent to those who could not be present. The response was truly worthy of our congregation. Pledges were made for nearly Rs. 270,000 of which all but Rs. 20,000 have been received. But while these gifts were being mobilized, there was a slight cash flow problem at the outset. Seven members of the church came forward with loans to tid over this period; all the loans have now been returned. Another family, who prefers to remain unnamed, unstintingly placed their entire and substantial fluid assets on call for the building expenses, should the need arise. Thanks to all these friends, no bill has had to be kept pending nor any part of the work delayed due to lack of cash. The permission for undertaking this work was obtained with attention to its tortuous technicalities. Having been a garrison church under the British Government, the ownership of the Church, after Independence was vested in the Indian Church Trustees. In recent years, all such properties within the C.S.I. area had been handed over to the C.S.I. The C.S.I. Trust Association scrutinised and approved the present plans and the Vellore C.S.I. Diocese added its blessings with a generous and unsolicited donation of Rs. 10,000 and by agreeing to process any foreign currency donations. For the information, and participation if desired, of former members and other absent friends of the Church, a letter was sent to all such whose addresses could be obtained. In fact, the very first donation for the repairs came from a former member who had always been concerned about the upkeep of the Church. Including some others who similarly came forward on their own, the total donations from former members and friends, amounted to approximately Rs. 40,000. The vacating of the Church for the roof replacement has been used to undertake a number of other necessary repairs and improvements. These include the restoration of the impressive flights of steps in front and on the sides and laying a new floor, in cement in the body of the church and the porch and in white mosaic tiles in the sanctuary. The lime plaster on the outside of the church building and in the belfry has been replaced with cement plaster. The shutters of the windows will now open outwards, much to the convenience of those who happen to be seated near them and adding to the feeling of spaciousness within the Church. The ceiling lights along the central aisle have been transferred to either side. On entering the Church through the main door there now is an unobstructed and inspiring view of the sanctuary and the stained glass window depicting the Crucifixion. All the pendent lights have been fitted with uniform translucent globes, consistent with the age of the Church. The original
cost estimate of Rs. 350,000 just about covered the actual cost
of the replacement of the roof and its fixtures. With the additional
work on the floor and the exterior of the Church and on the premises,
the total cost of the renovation has come to Rs. 425,000. Against
this, the total receipts into the building fund, including the
original balance, has been Rs. 400,000. The shortfall of Rs. 25,000
has made it necessary to invite the congregation to enhance their
generous contributions by an additional 10%. It is a matter of
muich regret to us that, because of this financial situation,
the construction of the proposed ramp and open air stage at the
back of the Church could not be taken up as part of the present
renovation. We have been called together from an exceptionally rich diversity of backgrounds and placed in this strategic situation at a crucial period in the history of our evolving nation and blessed with an unmatched blend of educated youth, technical talent, harmonious fellowship and a beautiful and historic church, now well-resorted. But if we are truly pilgrims, we are challenged to consider, and implement, ways in which our Church could be more than a well-preserved and self-preserving apparatus moving smoothly, and even elegantly, along its appointed weekly and annual cycles. As of old, the prophetic question is: What doth the Lord require of thee? Members of Renovation Committee: Dr. Benjamin Pulimood (Chairman), Mr.R.J.Eapen, Dr. Alan Gijsbers, Dr. Jasper Daniel, Mrs. Violet Jayachandran, Mr.Paul Jepegnanam Mr. Tharyan Koshi (Treasurer), Dr. Ashok Nathaniel, Mr. M. Nelson, Mr. John Pancharatham, Dr. Poonnoose Mathew, Dr.P.Zachariah(Convener). |
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St.
John's Church houses several objects of historical and sentimental
value, some of which are older than the Church itself. The stunningly
beautiful stained-glass window above the altar, in its still-vibrant
colours of bright pinks, jewel reds and soft, natural skin tones,
is at least a hundred years old. Both the window (representing
the crucifixion) and the elegant, grey granite baptismal font,
were presented to the Church by the widow of Lieut. Col. William
Sim McLeod, Suptd. Of Vellore Jail, in memory of her husband who
died in 1883.
The Communion Plate of St. John's Church, engraved most beautifull with the coat of arms of the East India Co. was purchased in August 1842 when a sum of Rs. 150 was sanctioned for the purpose. For years, the interior of St. John's Church, was brightened by the regimental colours displayed there. Those of the 10th Madras Native Infantry were kept to the right of the main door but were removed in 1947 and are now kept in the headquarters of a Gurkha regiment in Hongkong. A brass plaque in the Church now marks the spot where these colours were kept.
Though St. John's Church dates to 1846, its Records-large volumes
filled with pages of exquisite copperplate writing-register baptisms,
marriages and deaths from 1813 onwards. These Records have several
stories of their own to tell. Tales of happy marriages solemnised
only after the requisite permission had been obtained from superiors
in the army or from the Governor. Stories of Indians being baptised.
Tragic tales of death by snake bite and even by being mauled by
a tiger. Rev. J.J. Pratt narrates how he once put his signature
to a document certifying a marriage that took place 125 years
ago! In response to a request by an Englishman for the marriage
certificate of his ancestor, Rev. Pratt spent some time scouring
the Church Records. Finally he was happy to chance upon the required
entry, and even more delighted to find it had been penned by another
Rev. Pratt-his namesake, Rev. Thomas Arthur Cooper Pratt, Chaplain
of St. John's from 1859-1860. |
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